Burlesque musical review: Christina Aquilera show is a true spectacle
Burlesque musical review: ★★★★
Was Burlesque going to be the worst musical of the year? Headlines suggest chaos: the director and choreographer exited the production weeks before the West End opening, and the late arrival of costumes forced the actors’ union Equity to put out a statement about a “number of issues,” including to do with unpaid invoices. Who stepped in as director? Todrick Hall, the controversial performer who, amongst other things, was criticised for insensitive behaviour during his stint on Celebrity Big Brother.
But the Burlesque musical does not project the chaos of its production – running at two hours fifty minutes, it feels pacey, high-octane, and often funny, and is more slathered than sprinkled with incredibly eye-catching performances.
Burlesque: Everyone’s here for the production, which delivers
Inspired by the 2010 movie starring Christina Aquilera and Cher, the West End iteration includes a touching new plotline that brings its subjects emotionally closer together. It follows Ali Rose, a small town girl who travels to New York where she lands a job in a struggling burlesque bar. Owner Tess has an old-fashioned mindset but club MC Sean helps Ali climb the ranks and potentially save the venue from closure.
The plotting feels thin and becomes increasingly confusing by act two, but Burlesque as a set of megawatt performances is so strong that you forgive the holes. Gravelly, funny Todrick Hall is particularly good at gluing together the messy parts of Steve Antin’s script with warmth and the odd schmaltzy trick (he does the splits then jokes he’s too old for it, struggling back up again), firing off his natural charm offensive as Sean.
Everyone’s here for the production, which delivers. At points, the Burlesque musical feels like a massive Magic Mike production where shimmering torsos are the main characters, but away from the sensation, there is depth; both Hall and American singer-songwriter Orfeh who plays Tess display gravitas; they command when they stand on stage alone and belt. Jess Folley is also incredible as lead Ali, bringing softer power to the role originated by Aquilera.
There are new songs by Christina Aguilera, Sia and Diane Warren. Standouts include Jess’ solos Got It All From You and Bound To You, and Orfeh is equally majestic on You Haven’t Seen The Last Of Me. Choreography by Hall is slick, but there are a few qualms with the staging: an over-reliance on a floor-to-ceiling video screen at the back of the stage shifts the focus out of the universe, and there is perhaps the most tired use of live projected video (filmed on stage during the production) that I have ever seen in a London theatre.
Don’t spend too much time worrying about that: this is the messy, chaotic world of burlesque and what matters is the vocals are in order.
Book tickets to the Burlesque musical
The Burlesque musical runs until 6 September, to book go to burlesqueonstage.com
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